POTTSVILLE — Northwestern didn’t want a repeat of what happened in the Colonial League playoffs.

The only history it did repeat was defeating Panther Valley in the District 11 4A volleyball playoffs again.

The Panthers and Tigers are no strangers to playoff action, and Thursday evening’s semifinal at Martz Hall was no exception.

After defeating PV in the quarterfinals last year, NW maintained its success against its Schuylkill League opponent with a 3-1 victory — and made program history by advancing to the district championship.

“This is the first time our school’s ever played for the district championship,” Tigers head coach Mike Maston said. “We’re glad we get the opportunity to do it. I think the girls played really good out here today, and I’m so proud of them.”

Following a devastating loss to Notre Dame in the league playoffs, third-seeded Northwestern showed its resilience through districts with a renewed mindset. The players have turned what could have been a demoralizing defeat into a pivotal learning lesson that has taken them farther than the program has ever gone before.

“After the loss against Notre Dame we were talking as a team,” said senior Anna Ebeling. “We had a really big talk about how we can’t let one thing affect us and how we just need to persevere through those tough moments. Just because we win two sets first doesn’t mean we’re going to win the third. So you have to keep playing and be humble.”

In fitting fashion, the Tigers faced that same scenario on Thursday: a 2-0 lead with a chance to finish the job.

The first set saw a hot start from NW, including an early 6-0 run to help build a 16-8 lead. Panther Valley responded with a 10-3 stretch to close the deficit to two points, but the Tigers held on for a 25-22 finish.

Set two was the opposite.

Both teams matched one another most of the way with NW holding a slight edge at 15-13, but a 10-4 sequence allowed the Tigers to pull away with a 25-17 result.

Things didn’t look good for the No. 2 Panthers early in set three as they faced two separate four-point deficits. However, an 8-1 run catapulted PV into a lead that it managed to hold on to for the 25-22 score, putting doubts in the minds of Northwestern.

Those same doubts grew when the Panthers gained an advantage midway through the fourth set.

The Tigers responded with a 7-1 stretch, forcing PV to push back, earning eight of the next 12 points to cut the deficit to one.

Proving that its players had learned its lesson from leagues, NW put the nail in the Panthers’ season with a 5-1 sequence for the 25-20 win.

“The outcome in leagues was definitely not what we wanted,” said Tiger junior Kayla Schaffer. “But that loss made us really come to the conclusion that we wanted to win districts, and we came into this game hard.”

While disappointed that the season is over, Panther Valley head coach Nancy Filer said there’s no shame in falling to a better opponent that was also nearly double the size of her team (25 to 13).

“I think both teams wanted it,” she said. “I don’t think anything we did went wrong. I thought they played well. We just got less points.

“They have a lot of pride in themselves. They wanted to be on this court. It just didn’t happen for them today.”

STANDOUT STATS ... Northwestern was led by Ebeling and Lacey Clymer, who combined for 31 kills, 17 from Clymer and 14 from Ebeling. Lexi George kept numerous rallies alive with 40 digs, and the primary playmaker setting them up was Schaffer with 42 assists, including the 1,000th of her career. “I knew coming into the game that I was close,” Schaffer Said. “It was such a cool feeling knowing that every kill that we got was just a step closer to reaching it.” Ebeling feels the same way. “I would never ever be able to have as many kills as I do without her,” Ebeling said. “She is an amazing setter and she always knows where to put the ball.”

UNCHARTED TERRITORY ... For their first-ever district final appearance, the Tigers will travel to Catasauqua on Tuesday to face Bethlehem Catholic, which swept Notre Dame to advance. NW has also qualified for a spot in the state playoffs with this victory. “This is going to be the farthest that the Northwestern volleyball program has made it,” said Schaffer. “It’s such a great feeling to know that we’re making history and being a part of the team doing it.”

Northwestern 3, Panther Valley 1

Northwestern 25 25 22 25

Panther Valley 22 17 25 20

Statistics: Northwestern - Lacey Clymer 17 kills, 24 digs; Anna Ebeling 14 kills; Kayla Schaffer 42 assists, 4 kills, 9 digs; Lexi George 40 digs, 6 assists; Layla Seither 12 digs; Marina Breininger 6 kills, 4 digs; Brynn Hausman 5 kills; Jessie Unrath 4 kills, 2 digs; Olivia Blanken 3 kills, 4 digs; Panther Valley - JaeLynn Browdy 16 kills, 17 assists, 9 digs; Kathryn Breslin 16 kills, 16 assists, 4 digs; Jessica Hackash 14 digs, 6 blocks, 4 assists, 3 kills; Sophia Paton 7 blocks, 3 kills, 3 digs; Danika Blazosky 7 kills, 7 digs, 2blocks; Nina Thorpe 8 digs, 5 kills, 3 blocks.

Records: Northwestern (19-6); Panther Valley (19-5).